Salford students and graduates lend voices to Cloud Imperium Games' Squadron 42

Current students and alumni from our MA Screen Acting, BA Media and Performance and BA Theatre and Performance Practice programmes returned to our Peel Park campus on Tuesday 20 August to record dialogue for the developer's highly anticipated new game Squadron 42.

Squadron 42 is in development by Cloud Imperium Games, with a Hollywood-caliber story-driven single-player game set in the same universe as massively multiplayer space simulation Star Citizen, the largest crowdfunded video game ever.

The group of current and former students are set to join the vast voice cast ensemble for the release which will feature the voices of award-winning actors including Gary Oldman, Mark Strong, Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, Andy Serkis, Henry Cavill and John Rhys-Davies.

On the day, the group of 23 first did some solo recordings in the Voice Recording studio within the New Adelphi building for a variety of background characters to fill moments of cinematics and gameplay before undertaking group work in the New Adelphi Theatre where they recorded 3D crowd and background audio for the game. 

Sophie Stewart, A BA Theatre and Performance Practice graduate, said on the experience: "It's been a pleasure to come back to Salford to do the recordings and it's been a lot of fun! 

"The process itself was very slick and a bit nerve-wracking but it was putting into practice all the things we've learned at Salford whilst just being a professional. The team have been really personable and communicated exactly what they need you to do. It's been very exciting.

"To have this relationship with the University where I'm still able to get these kind of opportunities despite having graduated is really lovely. It feels like they're still invested in my professional journey."

Jamie Peebles, a MA Screen Acting graduate, said: "The opportunity blew me away and it's a crazy opportunity. The fact that I've heard of Cloud Imperium, that they've got some really big names on the cast and the fact that my name might be on a big game like this, it's almost unbelievable."

The graduates were supported on the day by Salford academics Helen Mason, a Lecturer in Media & Performance and Luke Harrison, a Senior Lecturer who works on a variety of the University's sound and technical courses.

The opportunity for the graduates came through tapping into our alumni network as a former MSc Audio Production student, Desiree Hulley, now recordist at Cloud Imperium Games, reached out to Luke about utilising the facilities and working with recent graduates.

Luke said: "This is a huge opportunity for our graduates, most of which have just left Salford, as this is a big game stacked with a Hollywood cast and even though they will have likely have a relatively small part in the finished product, they will still be a part of the process.

"To experience recording audio for the games industry and how that works differently for TV and Film is also going to be really good knowledge for them which they can use in their careers going forward.

"We're really excited about this collaboration and would be really keen to do more of this kind of work in the future with Cloud Imperium as they are based just down the road in Manchester."

Dave Haddock, Narrative Director at Cloud Imperium Games, said: "We’re thrilled at the opportunity to support local acting talent and recent graduates from the University of Salford, offering additional real-world experience to support their career path and leveraging their skills to help make the narrative in Squadron 42 come to life. Everyone’s contributions to the final product, big and small, is hugely important and we’re thankful to Luke for helping connect us with the University and their skilled graduates.”

Cloud Imperium Games (CIG), developer of Star Citizen and Squadron 42, is a new kind of independent studio dedicated to delivering AAA games outside the established publisher system. Founded in 2012 by renowned game developer Chris Roberts, CIG is shifting the paradigm of game development towards a more inclusive process, offering its global community an unprecedented level of visibility and engagement by granting ongoing access to a product in active development.